Seriously, gentle reader, I certainly did not set up this shot, even though I was standing by when the WSJ photographer was taking her photos last Thursday eve, at Allison Joseph‘s Jew in the City‘s event at Kehilath Jeshurun I guess being the only red logo on the poster over the red carpet makes us stick out, being in the center was also a very lucky break! I guess now I can claim, that the big media noticed us… Huh… huh… can I?

1.Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Mix well until there are no lumps, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2.In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 1 cup of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. ,(You can also put in in the refrigerator for a slow overnight rise. Just bring the dough to room temperature before continuing.) Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains. About 1 hour.
3.Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a floured 3-inch cutter. * (See note) Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
4.Heat oil in a deep fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F. Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Optional glaze

2 cups

Confectioner’s sugar

1-tablespoon corn syrup

2-4 tablespoons of water

Place sugar. Corn syrup and vanilla in a bowl and mix well. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue until you reach desired consistency. It should be liquid but not runny.

Submerge doughnut half way, turn over, and place on a cooling rack to set

NOTE: At this point the formed doughnuts can be refrigerated overnight, brought to room temperature the next day, and then rise before baking. You can also freeze them on a cookie sheet.

Geila

When we taped the video for this recipe at Geila’s kitchen I had the pleasure of tasting these doughnuts, I made them myself and served them this evening. I found them easy to make and utterly delicious!

Chanukah may be a minor festival, but the concepts it embodies are major. Jews, that stiff-necked people, were living under the control of Seleucide Greeks. While the conquerors were generally tolerant of other religions, provided the conquered people accepted the ostensibly superior culture, the Jews – for the most part – refused to bend, to compromise, to accept “progress.” They stuck to their beliefs, even when threatened with death. What prompted these people to follow an invisible God, a God they were proscribed from making statutes of, a God who placed so many positive and negative commandments upon them?

A German Menorah, from the late 19th or early 20th century.Photo from the LA Times.

For generations, the Jews were witnesses to the Almighty’s open and not so open miracles, they had no need of wood, stone or metal statutes to feel His presence. His presence surrounded them constantly! Their ragtag army, now fought the world’s mightiest power and won. Was that not enough of a miracle? Yet we do not celebrate Chanukah as a merely nationalistic day of independence. No, we celebrate instead the rekindling of the Temple Menorah, the rebirth of our faith.

We celebrate the fact that the Temple in Jerusalem had been purified of foreign idolatrous contamination. We celebrate the fact that just as it seemed that we would have to wait eight days for new consecrated olive oil to be prepared, miraculously a small flask just enough for one day’s kindling was found and yet it lasted a full eight days. The Greeks had combed through the Temple to loot its treasures, to take away anything that could be used by the stubborn Jews to worship that God, and yet throughout the years this small flask had gone unnoticed until truly committed Jews found it. Was it merely that they looked harder, or was that itself a miracle?

As a result of olive oil’s power in restoring us a nation, His nation, we traditionally eat fried foods on Chanukah, here is a recipe for traditional “Sufganyot,” jelly filled donuts:

3 tablespoons very soft margarine or vegetable oil (for a dairy version you may use sour cream)

vegetable oil for frying

plum, apricot, red currants or black currant jelly

1/2 cup sugar

Directions

Stir the yeast, flour, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a standard electric, mixer fitted with a dough hook. Make a well in the center. Add the milk, egg, yolk, and margarine (or sour cream for dairy sufganyot). Beat on low speed for 2 minutes, or until combined. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic and leaves the side of the bowl. Cover with a dish towel and leave in a warm place for 1 1/2 – 2 hours until doubled in volume.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly to deflate adding a little more flour if the dough is sticky. Divide the dough in half and roll out each piece to 3/4″ thick.

Working with one dough half at a time, using a 2″ cutter, stamp out as many rounds as pssible. Knead the scraps together, reroll and stamp out more rounds, you should form at lease 24. Cover with the dish towel and leave for 20 minutes, or until puffed and slightly risen.

Heat at least 3″ of oil in a deep-fat fryer, wok or large pan to 375 F. or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Working in batches, fry the doughnits, covered for 3 – 4 minutes, or until golden. Turn and fry on the other side for 3 minutes or until well colored. Using a skimmer, or slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.

Fit a small pastry bag, with a 1/2″ plain tip, and fill with jelly. Put the sugar into a bowl. When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, make a small slit in the side of each, insert the tip into the center, and squeeze about 1 teaspoon of jelly. Drop each filled doughnut into the sugar and turn to coat completely. Transfer to a wire rack.

Tonight Jews around the world will celebrate the first of the eight days of Chanukah. Does the celebration solely commemorate a miraculous military victory? Does the festival of lights merely reflect a historical re-enactment of the providential discovery of a tiny jug of consecrated oil which relit the Temple candelabra, and whose miraculous radiant flame lasted eight days instead of one?

After years of serving as a temple to some Greek idol, the Holy Temple’s service was reinstated in 167 BCE; why then, do we concentrate on the miracle of the Menorah instead of the renewal of proper worship to Hashem? What is so special about the Menorah? As we read in Mishley – Proverbs (20:27): Ner Hashem nishmat adam – Hashem’s candle is the human soul; the candle is a representational symbol of that soul as Hakadosh Baruch Hu shines His divine light upon us through the Menorah. The essence of that divine light is Torah!

"Chanuka gelt" - Chanuka chocolate "money"

It is customary, even praiseworthy, to use pure olive oil when lighting the Menorah. Why? Ve’atah tetzaveh et Bney Yisrael: Vayikchu elecha shemen zait zach… And you will command the Children of Israel thus: Take to yourself pure olive oil… (Shmot 27:20)” ChaZa”L likened learning Torah to olive oil; they taught that living within those teachings makes us pure. Just as pure olive oil enhances the flavor of the food it is combined with, so too does the pure learning and living within the Torah’s teaching enhance our lives, enabling each and every one of us to reach his/her true potential.

In Ohev Yisrael,the Apter Rebbe – Avraham Yehoshu’a Heschel of Opatow, writes that the reason the word “elecha – to yourself”, is used instead of just saying “vayikchu shemen zait zach… – take pure olive oil…” is in order to stress that one must do more than just just follow a command. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to go beyond simple obedience, He wants us to absorb His word until it totally melds into and becomes one with our being, therefore the individual is told “take to yourself,” even though vayikchu is plural!

The Boreh Olam, The Creator, stresses and reminds us, year after year, what is of greatest intrinsic value to Him. It is the absorption, saturation, and reflection of His message within us. It is the purity and beauty with which we bring ourselves to and act out His guidelines without defiling ourselves amidst the galut of our own history making as we talk, walk and act out the roadways of our individual and collective lives. May this Chanukah rekindle in each of us His the brigh lights of Torah and re-establish our own internal worthiness and sense of purpose. May our hearts and spirits become again that pure consecrated olive oil empowered to light and return us to our former greatness meriting the rebuilding of His Holy Temple in Yerushalayim, bimherah biyamenu. Amen!!!

In some households wittingly or unwittingly some things may border on imitating goyishe ways with gifts becoming more important than the actual message of Chanukkah. The Menorahs that we light and put by the windows or doorways, whether simple or ornate are a testament that in spite of all our faults, Hakodosh Boruch Hu finds us worthy of being saved. Every mighty empire of yore, conquered us. Every mighty empire of yore found it necessary to torture, kill and try to obliterate us as a people and every mighty empire of yore only has the ruins of its long lost glory to show for all its troubles, as each of these once mighty empires has been relegated to the dustbins of history. And yet, we Jews are still here in spite of our numerous enemies past and present.

The late British historian, Professor Arnold Toynbee referred to the Jew as “the fossil of history.” How hopelessly wrong the good professor was! How absent his understanding of the real force behind history!

A fossil is inert, dead. Look at tiny Israel, it produces more literature, scientific and technical books per year than the whole Arab world together. Its medical advances save lives all over the world… all this in spite of the constant non stop threats and terrorism emanating from the countries that surround it.

Chanukka is not just a time for latkes and sufganyot, not only do we light candles but families come together in ways not always apparent on regular days. To remember our past, to pay homage to the people we are, to celebrate our future we looked for fun items at Kosherfest, items that would help bring the true message of Chanukka alive. We found these 3D cupkake and cake molds in the shape of dreidels from The Kosher Cook. Bake together with your child, it’s fun, it’s educational and it binds both of you. The laughs, the hugs, the delight, the love, those are all part of the message and the rejoicing of Chanukka.

Dreidel Cake mold

3D Dreidel mold

After using the 3D Dreidel mold – we used a cake mix, Duncan Hines’ Devils Food – we put the pieces together and got these results:

Delicious dreidel cupcakes!

The one on the left was decorated with Nut Crunch, the one on the right with Assorted Nonpareils. Not bad!

These molds are available on line at The Kosher Cook, at your favorite Judaica store and kosher supermarkets. Check out the website, they have lots of fun and interesting items. Enjoy cooking with your children and as you light the oil on the menorah rekindle the light of love in your and your child’s heart.

If anyone cares to send us some pictures of things they’ve done with their children, we’ll gladly post them on these pages.

Tonight is the first night of Chanukka and our attention to latkes. Few dishes can be so delicious, so comforting as properly made latkes, and yet they do not require long preparation. Many cooks are rather uncomfortable with the idea of deep frying foods. But… what is Chanukka without latkes?!? Besides, even the most health conscious will agree, deep fried food when done right tastes superb! Occasional deep frying will certainly not disrupt any health-based food regimen.

Chef Lévana Kirschenbaum, gives us her pointers for a healthier deep frying and, of course, her superb Latkas recipe with a few variations:

Delectable!!!!

Frying (stir-frying does not fall into this category, as it requires very little oil and minimal cooking) is the nemesis of every health-conscious cook, this one included. However, fried foods are irresistibly delicious. I am happy to provide a few guidelines for frying occasional treats efficiently and safely: consider the following a mini crash course on conquering the fear of frying!– Keep it dry. Too much moisture will steam food instead of frying it, yielding soggy results. Be sure to dry whatever you are frying thoroughly with paper towels.– Keep it thick. With a firm (not runny) batter, you will be able to form thicker patties, which will absorb much less oil than thinner ones. The ouside will be crisp and the center will be tender yet cooked through.– Keep it hot. Less-than-hot oil will seep into your food, making it inedibly greasy. If you are adding oil to your pan while frying, chances are your oil was not hot enough to begin with. When your oil is good and hot, you will need to add very little if any to finish frying an entire batch of food. How hot is hot enough? Drop a smidgen of batter into the oil. If it sizzles and rises to the surface, the oil is hot and ready for frying.– Keep it steady. Do not crowd the pan. First of all, you will make handling the food more difficult. Also, crowding will bring down the temperature of the oil. Adding what you are frying at steady intervals ensures that the oil has time to return to the desired temperature.– Keep it lean. I have my mother to thank for this advice. Rather than using spatulas or slotted spoons, work with two forks when frying. Lift each fried item with a fork on each side, and hold it vertically for a second or two over the frying pan: You will be surprised by how much oil drips off it. Immediately place the items on a plate lined with several layers of paper towels, which will absorb any remaining unwanted grease.– Keep it white. This applies only to potato dishes. Peeled potatoes will oxidate when exposed to air and turn an unappealing gray color. So when making latkes (or a potato kugel), get everything ready and peel and grate the potatoes last, adding them immediately to the otherwise finished batter.– Keep it fresh and hot. A word about freezing and reheating. If you are entertaining a large group, it won’t be enormous fun spending the afternoon frying while everyone is having a good time. If you must fry in advance, follow all the above guidelines, but fry each item until it is ninety percent cooked through, no more. Store it in a shallow pan in one layer. You can also place the latkas in the pan vertically, like a deck of cards; you will be able to fit quite a few in a pan in this position (again, one layer). Cover tightly. Refrigerate or freeze, depending on how long in advance you are preparing the dish. Reheat uncovered, at about 350*F, for fifteen to twenty minutes if it was frozen, until golden and crisp.

Heat 1/3 inch oil in a heavy frying pan until very hot. While the oil is heating, place the flour, eggs, onion, salt and pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl, and mix thoroughly. Quickly grate the potatoes in a food processor or by hand, and immediately stir them into the batter, making sure not to squeeze so as not to extract unwanted extra moisture. Work very quickly so they do not have time to get discolored. Form small patties, and lower them into the hot oil, or drop the batter by heaping tablespoons. Fry until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve with applesauce, or plain yogurt.

Variations:

Vegetable latkes: Replace the potatoes with a mixture of zucchini, carrots and parsnips. Add seasonings of your choice such as oregano, minced fresh garlic and basil.Sweet potato latkes: Substitute sweet potatoes for the regular potatoes, and add brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger to taste.Potato Kugel: That’s right: What else is it but a giant latka? Add 1/3 cup of vegetable oil to the potato latka batter. Pour the batter into a greased loaf or square pan, and bake uncovered in a preheated 375*F oven for one hour or until the top is golden brown.

Hanukkah Doughnuts – Sufganiot (Parve)

Sufganiot are deep-fried jelly doughnuts that are traditionally eaten during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Sufganiot are especially popular in Israel. The oil used to fry the doughnuts are reminiscent of the oil that miraculously burned, according to the Hanukkah story, in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.

Ingredients:

25 grams (1 ounce) yeast

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. water

1 Tbsp. flour

3 cups flour

50 grams (1/4 cup) margarine, melted

dash of salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 egg yolks

1 1/4 cups water (room temperature)

jelly (strawberry is recommended)

oil for frying (canola is recommended)

powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. To make the dough: Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl. Mix well, cover, and wait until it rises. In another bowl, mix 3 cups of flour with the melted margarine, salt, sugar and egg yolks. Combine the yeast mixture with the flour mixture. Slowly add water while stirring. When batter is smooth, cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit and rise.
2. To make the doughnuts: After the batter has risen, pour it onto a floured surface and roll it out. Use a glass with a small opening to cut out circles of the dough. Place a drop of jelly in the middle of each circle, and then cover with another circle of dough. Make sure that 2 circles attach well to form a closed ball with jelly in the middle. Cover the doughnuts with a towel and let rise.
3. To fry the doughnuts: Heat oil in a deep pot until very hot. Drop the doughnuts into the oil and fry on both sides until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

TIP: These sufganiot are only good fresh. After you make the dough, only fry a few at a time. Store the rest of the dough in the refrigerator.

Stuffed cabbage rolls are known by a variety of names, depending on what part of Europe you or your ancestors came from. The recipes, however, are very similar. Traditionally, though it can be enjoyed on any holiday, it has become a staple on the Simchas Torah table. My favorite recipe follows:

Aunt Judy’s Holopches (Stuffed Cabbage)

Yields: approximately 20 pieces

Ingredients

1 large head green cabbage(outer leaves are for rolls, chop up remainder into long
pieces)

1 bottle or package of sauerkraut (tightly squeeze out liquid)

1 medium onion grated

1 medium onion thinly sliced

1/4 tsp of finely chopped garlic

1 lb ground lean beef

1/2 cup long grain rice,

¼ cup olive oil

2 raw eggs lightly beaten

2 Tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika

1½ tsp salt, or salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper

¼ tsp peppercorns

1 Tbsp. paprika

1 bay leaf

1 cup water mixed with 1 cup tomato puree

½ lb salami cubed (optional)

Pinch sour salt

Directions

Remove core of cabbage head, place cabbage head in a large pot of water, bringing to boil.

Put a handful of meat mixture into center of each cabbage leaf, roll it up and tuck in
sides.

Prepare all stuffed cabbage leaves.

Rue

4 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp sugar

4 Tbsp flour

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp garlic

Pinch of salt

Preparation

Sauté in a separate pan till golden brown.

Then stir in water and tomato puree.

In large pot, sauté sliced onion in oil till translucent.

Add sauerkraut, shredded cabbage, seasoning and salt.

Place the cabbage rolls seam side down.

Cover with remainder of chopped cabbage.

Add peppercorns and bay leaf.

Slow cook on low-medium until mixture begins to bubble.

Simmer for approximately 3 hours.

Aunt Judy is an incredible balabusta, baker and cook. In her younger years, on yomim tovim and simchas, her house was always full of guests, the table arrayed with the most delicious home made foods. Stuffed cabbage was a standard on Chanukah, Purim and Simchas Torah No one made it better!!!

[In 2007, I wrote the following on my other blog, I will re-post here some excerpts which best describe my feelings on Chanukah, our people and the millenia of Jewish struggle. CS]

Photo Credits: templeinstitute.org

Bayamim ha’em – in those days…
Roughly about 2100 years ago a ragtag army of Jews who refused to follow the fashionable Hellenistic ideas and culture, Jews who clung to their anachronistic religion and customs, decided to revolt against the Greek (Syriac) Seleucid Emperor Antiochus IV. Anyone with some practical sense or conventional wisdom could have easily predicted the revolt would end disastrously… but he would have been very wrong!!! This ragtag assembly of Jews faced overwhelming numbers of superior and superbly equipped Seleucid warriors (100 Greek soldiers for every Jewish one) destroying them, leaving the few remaining Seleucids fleeing in fright.

What was the motivation of this group, what made them fight with their every fiber of body and soul? The Hellenists unlike other conquerors of the Holy Land did not intend – originally – to exterminate the Jews, they meant no bodily harm… all they sought was for the Jews to abandon their old religious beliefs and become a part of the enlightened NOW of that time, to abandon their outdated, out of fashion creed and embrace the Hellenist enlightenment. They wanted the Jews to become immersed in Greek culture with its literature, its philosophy, its emphasis on physical prowess as practiced in the gymnasiums. They wanted the Jews to lose their spirituality and thereby their distinct identity. Many were seduced by those ideas so in vogue in the enlightened world and gave up their Judaism. Many went so far as to wear a special cup that would mask the mark of their circumcision. Many… but not all!

When Antiochus decreed that henceforth anyone who had their sons circumcised would be killed together with the new baby, most men gave up the ritual, many ceased procreating in fear of the death threat against themselves and their potential offspring. The men were ready to give up… but not their women! Many a woman would, in direct violation of the law, circumcise her son and rather than quietly await death at the hands of the Seleucid Greeks would jump from a mountain top and rob the hated oppressor of the pleasure of killing a Jew… The Nation of Israel was often roused from its slumber, from its complacency, from its hopelessness, by its courageous women… Examples abound!

Soon the rebellion spread and many who had already despaired suddenly found new strength, new hope, new reasons to stand up to the tyrants. As the women set the courageous example of resisting the oppressor, the men soon followed suit refusing to comply and taking up arms instead. The little flame that is forever lit in each and every Jew’s heart suddenly ignited and burned brilliantly. The terrible anger, humiliation and pain they experienced at the loss of their wives, their daughters, their mothers, the fury against an unjust oppressor who wanted to trample their religion and replace it with false gods, kindled within them new fires, new resolution, renewed faith.

Matityahu the Priest and his sons never wavered in their beliefs. They suddenly amassed many recruits, renewed cohesively with sense of faith and purpose, and succeeded against the best and fiercest army of the day. The Temple in Jerusalem was soon restored, cleansed of the Greek impurities and the Holy faith of the Jews again shone brightly within its walls. The wonder of finding one small vial of sanctified oil meant to burn one day and miraculously burning for eight (thus giving the Israelites enough time to prepare more of the consecrated oil) was a Divine message that their sacrifices, their faith and their refusal to give up their belief in Him had been acknowledged!

Since our earliest history as a people, the strongest empires, the mightiest armies, have conquered Israel. They scattered us throughout the world. Through harassment, persecution, rape and murder, they sought to break our spirit. Many broke and left the fold! Neither the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks, the Persians, the Babylonians, nor the Romans fully succeeded… nor are they, themselves, still around. The spark of Judaism that shines in every Jewish heart, can never be extinguished… it takes very little to reignite it, to bring it back to its full power.

The medieval blood libels, the Spanish (and Portuguese) Inquisition, the murderous Ukrainian Cossacks of Bogdan Chmielnicky, or Hitler and his willing accomplices, etc., etc., decimated us tremendously throughout our history. Many a European village, filled with Jews, was razed to the ground with its soil forever soaked in our blood. But the stiff necked, stubborn Jew, though numerically crippled every time, survived it all and improved.

Bazman hazeh – at this time…
British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, in his monumental A Study of History (on the rise and fall of civilizations), referred to the Jews as “the fossil of history.” Logically, we should have disappeared long ago. Logically, we should have barely made it, as a small footnote, in some forgotten history tome, but… we Jews are still here. The learned Professor Toynbee was grievously wrong! The Jews are not a fossil, a fossil has no life. A fossil is merely a bone, a fragment, a reminder, a remnant, of what once was very alive. Toynbee was wrong, the Jew LIVES! And… unfortunately, for the learned professor… WE RUINED HIS THEORY!!!

The Jew today is a vibrant force in whatever country he/she may reside, whether in the sciences, in the professions, in technology, in business, in education, in the arts, in literature, in every facet of modern life. Jews come in every hue of the political spectrum, we differ as much from one another as any other people or more. Yet, through it all, whether we follow Ashkenazi or Sephardi traditions, whether we are chassidim or litwisch whether we come from Uruguay, the US, Iraq, India, Poland, or Italy, or any place on this planet, every single one of us carries a small spark of that Hanuka oil burning in our hearts. That is the reason why no conqueror, no oppressors could destroy us, that is why we are still Jews today… and will still be Jews when those very oppressors and haters have themselves been relegated to the dustbin of history.

Enough of my ranting! Chanukka is a time of joy and renewal, so here is a very simple, delicious, heimische latke recipe. Enjoy it with your family as you sing, play dreidel, or just… enjoy!

Potato Latkes

Put the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, getting rid of as much moisture as possible. In a bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly. In a large pan,over medium-high heat, heat up the oil until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the mix into the hot oil, press down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels. serve it hot. Makes 12 generous servings. When you are ready to eat you may put apple sauce on top or, if you are having it with dairy, add some sour cream, or just have them as they are. Enjoy!